Social Media Applications!
Facebook 
The biggest benefit of using Facebook in the classroom is its accessibility and the collaboration / communication aspect. Teachers can create a group for their class and then invite students and parents to join. There are then a lot of uses for teachers in the classroom. Teachers can post announcements, worksheets, images, and just overall communications with parents and students at home. At the same time, students can use this page to work together on assignments, ask questions about homework and get information from their peers. The teacher can also observe the conversations being had and can assess who is at a strong enough level in specific subjects to help their peers and then also who is struggling. I would use this tool in my classroom in all of the above ways because of the benefits and the easy communication that it offers.
The possible drawback of this tool is the comfort level of parents as well as the possible risks of cyber bullying. Parents may not be comfortable with their child having a Facebook site especially depending on the age. Parents may also be weary of their child working online with others. Because technology is so big in our world today, there are a lot of opportunities for cyber bullying so depending on the age of students, I do think that I session about cyber bullying is necessary. I also think that if the teacher is aware and cautious of this issue then the class should be alright.
The most beneficial thing about Pinterest in my opinion is the ability to look up and access lesson plans, worksheets, and other fun classroom ideas. There are so many creative and interesting ideas for teachers to use in their classrooms. I use Pinterest and I already have a pin that is all filled with run activities, anchor charts, worksheets, decorations, etc. for when I have my own classroom. I think that I will definitely use this as a resource outside of the classroom, however, I do not think I will use this with my students.
I think there are other sites that offer the same applications that Pinterest does, such as posting pictures and commenting on each other’s work. These other sites though, such as Facebook or a blogging site, also have other applications such as chats or debates or group pages. I see myself using those applications instead of Pinterest in the classroom.
However, there are multiple disadvantages of using twitter in the classroom over other similar social media sites. First, when tweeting, users can only user 140 characters so there is no way for long responses or discussions. There are also a lot of possible privacy issues that could worry parents. And lastly, an issue that I would be nervous about is cyber bullying and other inappropriate uses. There are a lot of ways through twitter to contact each other so I would be nervous about students using it wrongly. There are a lot of inappropriate sites on twitter and being in an elementary classroom, I do not think that twitter would be the best social media use. I do not see myself using twitter in my own classroom.
Wikis and Blogs
I have really liked using blogs in this class through our experience with WordPress and then evaluating WikiSpaces, I really enjoyed that as well. There are so many different options for activities that teachers can use with their students. Working with and connecting to parents and students outside of the classroom. Teachers can write all of the classroom assignments on the calendar linked to the Wiki. It is also good for collaboration because users can create a discussion. Projects can also be assigned, created and accessed through the Wiki. Blogs can be used to help students practice their writing skills as well as their typing abilities (focused on elementary students). Using the comments section in blogs and wiki, students can use it for debates or discussions. Teachers can use the blog or wiki to introduce themselves to parents at the beginning of the year as opposed to sending a physical letter home, as well as collaborating with each other on assignments, projects, plans, etc. I will definitely use these blog sites in my classroom in all of these different ways!
There are some drawbacks with these sites as well but I think the biggest one would be the distraction of the look of the page. Because students get to design their own page, they could become distracted by creating a page that looks nice. This would be my concern however, I think if I were to give students enough time to play around with the different formats so that they feel they were able to test out everything, then this would not be a huge issue going forward.
EDU 222: Technology Integration 